#babalu

🥀 Oh man, Within the Wires bringing the dread from all sides. Political upheaval, plague, and these creepy-ass flowers. I don’t know if the show plans to explain why the flowers point toward bodies, living or dead, but as a scientist I hope they do. I also can’t wait for answers to all these questions. Bet they’re gonna be worse than we think!

🐺 The deftness with which @storiesfromylelmore handles emotionally sticky issues—without ever forgetting that its protagonists are pre-teens—is exceptional. Here we have unintentional harm done by a kid whose turmoil is mostly internal, harm that can’t really be fixed except by being aware of it and trying harder next time. And that doesn’t sound like a fun kids show adventure, but it still is! ItMe is incredible.

🔔 I didn’t expect @uneasytiger’s Babalu to make me cry happy tears, but like. I’m a sucker for weddings. And at the same time, I am wildly worried for Luisa because um??? Why are we lying to the boyfriend??? And I know why, it’s because family habits are hard to break. Lu’s impulsive carelessness with her life is just a lot like her mother, isn’t it? Man, what a good show.

🌃 The show @dustwalkerpod is new, and when I heard JD Hampton-VanSant was starring, I was PSYCHED, because I love her work, she’s awesome. I was not disappointed. DustWalker presents a complex and layered urban fantasy/cyberpunk city in the thrall of a theocracy with a protagonist who’s complicated, fascinating, too young for all this, and not nice at all. I already love Kove.

🇳🇬 All right, now time for some education. Fela Kuti: Fear No Man is not an audio drama, it’s a nonfiction narrative podcast about the life and times of history’s most famous Nigerian performer, the inventor of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti. The reason I bring it up here is that it is an absolute masterclass in sound design and storytelling. If you want to learn something new about how stories of all kinds can work, new ways to use sound design, or Nigeria, music history, politics, colonialism, or the man himself, listen to this podcast. Listen even if you don’t want to learn, it rules.

Dan Henderson vs Renato Sobral 2 - Strikeforce: St. Louis

Another throwback, this time featuring arguably MMA’s scariest puncher ever Dan Henderson.

In 2010, Hendo is already a legend of the sport tho his biggest win was arguably still to come. He was a former Pride FC welterweight and middleweight champion, beating the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Murilo Bustamante, Kazuo Misaki, Ninja Rua, etc as well as a successful tour in the UFC where he challenged for LHW and MW gold. He came up short but left the promotion on a 3 fight win streak, beating Michael Bisping, Rich Franklin, and Rousimar Palhares. He’d head over to Strikeforce where he challenged for MW gold but lost to Jake Shields. Hendo took it as a sign to move up to 205lbs and was given a title elimination bout with old foe - Renato Sobral aka Babalu.

I dare say her version of Babalu is better than Desi’s.

Epa!

🥃 Babalu came out the gate with a FLASHBACK EPISODE, which I think is just what we needed, because who better to tell Luisa who her mom really is than her mom? It’s clear that the lack of communication in this family is killing both Lu and her mom, and that despite never really knowing her, Luisa is mirroring her. The past doesn’t repeat, but sometimes it rhymes. This show is so good y’all. Season two when???

🎅 Anybody who is wise and subscribed to Two Flat Earthers Kidnap A Freemason already knows that @goodpointepodcasts has retitled that feed Stitches, and will be posting comedy anthology episodes, much like their other feed, Someone Just Like You. Now, while I am a little sad that this makes it harder to find TFEKAFM, I would also listen to Good Pointe scream into a tin can, so imagine my delight at Christmas Diner! This mini-series has all the surreality and dark humor of TFEKAFM, and is just brilliantly written. Track down Christmas Diner in your podcatcher, it’s brilliant.

🍄‍🟫 This episode of @midnightburgr was like a thesis statement of what the show is all about: “Together or not at all.” Gloria is a hero, but it’s not because she does things by herself. It’s because she is the one who steps up when something needs to be done. It’s because she can draw people to her and inspire them to act too. Brodie says as much! Gloria is one of those characters that I find genuinely aspirational.

🥚 Everyone, if you’re not listening to @vestaclinicpod, you are missing out on a wild plotline. I am on the edge of my SEAT. I was worried that NOSL11 or the baby was going to die—the Vesta Clinic is not one to shy away from well-placed tragedy—but what happened is so much stranger. It’s a brilliant plot twist.

👶🏾 Speaking of Christmas specials, over on the feed for the Courtship of Mona Mae is “A Seneca Village Christmas,” a snapshot of a Black neighborhood in 1850 where neighbors look out for each other, new life springs up even in the winter, and Christmas is very magical indeed. This two-part series is warm and welcoming and light on the conflict (although not devoid of it—one neighbor is under threat of the Fugitive Slave Act). It’s just nice. Check it out, and while you’re at it, check out Yhane Washington Smith’s other show, Harlem Queen, which posted its finale this week!